Luke and the Bantha
by Jake2
Summary: Luke runs away and finds a Bantha, and its owners aren't happy about that...


LUKE AND THE BANTHA  
  
Luke Skywalker walked outside of his Uncle's underground living space. Instantly the seven-year-old started to sweat, but the heat from Tatooine's twin suns instantly evaporated it.  
  
Uncle Owen was due back from a droid auction in Anchorhead today, and Luke needed a place to hide.  
  
His mind searched through various places.  
  
The Toshi Station, Biggs' house... the list went on and on, but none of them were perfectly satisfactory.  
  
The Toshi Station was where Owen was bound to look, and Biggs' parents would take him home.  
  
He could just go out into the Jundland Wastes, but that was too risky with all the reports of Tuskan Raiders going around.  
  
He heard the familiar hum of his uncle's landspeeder behind him. He ran to his speeder, powered up the engines, and drove off in a cloud of sand.  
  
The landspeeder he was in was headed for the Jundland Wastes.  
  
After half an hour of driving, Luke heard his engine begin to whine. He looked at the fuel gauge. He was out of gas.  
  
His speeder lost all power and control. It careened off boulders, Womp Rats, and stuff he didn't want to think about.  
  
He hit the ground with a teeth shattering jolt. He was thrown out of his seat, flew twenty meters in the air, and hit the side of a startled Bantha.  
  
It reared up and kicked at him. He ducked underneath it's gigantic leg, while running away from it.  
  
He had never actually seen a Bantha up close. He had always thought that they were stupid, ugly creatures.  
  
But now, after seeing one, he saw that they were actually beautiful creatures. He could also feel the intelligence radiating out from it.  
  
"Hi," he said soothingly, as if it were a pet. He wasn't sure if the furry, horned creature could hear him.  
  
It looked at him, it's face softening already. It actually did look like a pet. A massive pet. It was massive.  
  
Luke Skywalker, seven-year-old, unknown future Jedi, son of Darth Vader, couldn't do anything but stare at the creature, basking in it's kindness.  
  
Everybody thought Banthas were wild, evil beasts. So did Luke. But now he knew that it was a nice animal.  
  
His mind came back into the present. He jogged over to his speeder. It had dents everywhere. Two of it's engines were in half.  
  
Luke sighed. It looked like he was stranded here. He saw something glittering to his left, next to the canyon wall.  
  
He walked over to the Gaffi Stick. It was also known as a gadderfi. That didn't bother Luke. What bothered him was their owners:  
  
Tuskan Raiders.  
  
Another thought struck Luke, this one hitting him like a turbolaser cannon. What if the Bantha less than fifty feet away from him was owned by the Tuskans?  
  
It couldn't be! he thought. It's too nice! Something owned by the Tuskan Raiders has to be mean, and would have eaten me alive!  
  
He turned around, throwing down the gadderfi in the process. The Bantha was staring at him, not five feet away.  
  
"Friendly thing, aren't you?" Luke slowly reached out, and, not fealing any distress from the creature, stroked it's fur.  
  
"You like that, don't you?" he kept saying in a voice that he hadn't ever used before. He only remembered it in a distant memory. It had been coming from a lady. There had also been a man with a beard. He had said something about taking good care of him.  
  
That was all Luke remembered. He had told his uncle about it, and Owen had turned pale, and went silent for a few hours. It was like he was thinking about something that had happened long ago.  
  
But that couldn't be true! Luke thought defiantly. Uncle Owen has been a mousture farmer his whole life!  
  
The Bantha brought it's front knees to the ground. Luke had been told that this was how the Tuskans got on the Banthas.  
  
He decided to try it, putting his foot on the knee, and trying to draw the rest of his body up onto it's back.  
  
With a cry, he slipped from his perch, falling to the hard ground below. He hit with a thud, only to feel a cold nose rub along his body.  
  
It was the Bantha, checking him for injuries. He reached up and rubbed the creature, reasuring it that he wasn't hurt.  
  
He tried it again, and fell. It took him many tries, but he finally got it.  
  
The Bantha looked strange when he was looking at it from above. He was just about to have it walk him home, when he felt many eyes pearing at him from all around.  
  
He looked, but couldn't see anything. He looked again, and was surrounded by Tuskan Raiders. One was leading the Bantha, with him still on it, away, and the others were screaming at him.  
  
How could he get off and get away like this? he wondered. Suddenly, the Bantha he was riding on kicked the Tuskan leading him, sending him flying into the wall.  
  
The remaining Tuskan Raiders were astounded. They had never seen a Batha help something like this before.  
  
Once they got over their initial shock they ran towards Luke, waving their gaderffi like wild men.  
  
The Bantha ran. He probably broke the Bantha speed record, he was going so fast, right towards Luke's house.  
  
After only half an hour of running, it stopped a hundred yards from Luke's house. Luke jumped down to it's knee, than onto the ground.  
  
He turned around, a tear in his eye, towards the Bantha. It had saved his life, and Luke owed him everything.  
  
"Goodbye," he whispered softly. It prodded him with it's nose, nudging him towards his home. It waited until Luke had started running away, and turned back to the Tuskan Raiders chasing it.  
  
Luke Skywalker would never tell anyone about the Bantha that saved his life, although, for some reason, he would always remember it.  
  
Always...  
  
THE END 


End file.
